Airport Rail Link Under Construction In Jakarta

A much needed train link between the city and Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is underway.

Completion has been reported to be set for mid 2013 according to the Jakarta Post. Travel time is estimated to be 45 minutes.

For now the service will utilize a commuter link but an express train is now under study by the government.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport express train continues to see increasing traffic after a delayed opening, though most passengers opt for the Phayathai service versys the city check in facility at Makkasan.

Source: http://www.thephuketinsider.com/tourism/airport-rail-link-under-construction-jakarta.php

Davis Langdon & Seah name change to Langdon & Seah

Dutch engineering firm Arcadis announced that its subsidiary Davis Langdon & Seah, the leading Asian cost and project management consultancy, will change its name to Langdon & Seah effective today. The name change reflects the departure from the Davis Langdon group of companies resulting in the recent merger with Arcadis.

Founded in Singapore in 1934, Langdon & Seah is the longest established and largest cost/project management and quantity surveying consultancy in Asia. The company has close to 3, 000 people working from 37 office locations in mainland China, Hong Kong/Macau and other parts of Asia, including Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea, India and affiliates in Malaysia and Brunei. The company holds the #1 or #2 market position in its field of activities in all countries where it operates. Langdon & Seah merged with Arcadis in early April 2012.

Source: http://home.nestor.minsk.by/build/news/2012/05/1801.html

Italian-Thai closer to Bangkok's Purple Line trackworks contract

Italian-Thai Development steps closer to win the Purple Line's trackworks contract worth over Bt3 billion, on the confirmation from financier Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) that its competitor - Sino-Thai and ASV Joint Venture - is disqualified.

The contract for the 23-km trackwork from Bang Yai to Bang Sue has been delayed for over a year, believed to be a cause of conflicts among top executives at Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA).

Peerayuth Singpatanakul, a deputy governor of MRTA as chairman of the trackwork contract bidding committee, said yesterday that Jica has confirmed that Sino-Thai and ASV Joint Venture is disqualified and that the Thai agency should proceed with the consideration of ITD’s financial proposal.

At the meeting on May 11, the bidding committee resolved to follow Jica’s advice. This decision would be notified to the MRTA board of directors at today’s meeting, he said.
 
This is the sixth contract of the Purple Line. It was announced on May 18, 2011 that only two companies bid for the contract. The signing was originally extended to take place within July for construction in November in the same year. From altogether eight contracts, all have been awarded, except this. It remains unclear why MRTA has delayed the decision to proceed with the bidding and had to seek Jica's opinions twice.

Phnom Penh to add Vattanac Capital Tower to its skyline

Vattanac Capital will contain approximately 11,500 square meters of premium retail space in the Podium to accommodate luxury international brands.
 
Vattanac Properties Ltd. has begun development for the 39-storey Vattanac Capital office tower in Phnom Penh, Cambodia due to the need for International standard Grade A office space.
 
Some of the key features of the development are the 31 lifts, clear floor to ceiling heights of up to 3.45 metres, column free office floor plates, raised floors, and an iconic design by TFP Farrells.
 
Due to the shortage of modern office space in Cambodia, many companies, including multinationals and the World Bank, have located to renovated villas.

Aerial photography to Thailand's rescue

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Kittiratt Na Ranong, says the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is conducting aerial photography of the central plains to establish the best sites for flood water retention  by the end of the month.
 
“JICA confirmed that aerial photography was nearing completion therefore the flood management zones should be identified and announced within this month.”
 
He added: “Once the aerial photographs are submitted, the government will be able to indicate the exact location where monkey cheeks will be set up.”

 Last year, the monkey cheeks were located across entire residential areas on the edge of Bangkok that were under water for two months to a depth of 2 metres  all  to save the capital commercial loss.

Crown plans second Cambodia beverage can plant

Crown Holdings Inc. will construct a new beverage can plant in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, to accommodate growing demand.
 
The new plant is designed to produce multiple can lines and will have an initial annual production capacity of 725 million, two-piece 33cl aluminum cans. The facility is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2013 and will be Crown’s second beverage can plant in Cambodia.
 
Sihanoukville is on the Gulf of Thailand and is the country’s primary commercial port. Crown (NYSE:CCK) has a long-term contract with a major brewer that will support the new plant. The facility is consistent with the company’s growth plans. Crown said in a statement it has been manufacturing beverage cans in Southeast Asia for more than 40 years and now has seven beverage can plants in the region.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2012/05/15/crown-plans-second-cambodia-beverage.html

Loxley to build B60m algae biofuel plant 

Loxley Plc is spending 60 million baht to build a pilot plant for algae-based biofuel, possibly in Ratchaburi province.
 
The location will likely be at the power plant owned by Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc in Ratchaburi province so that carbon dioxide from the plant can be used to feed algae, said Nattapon Dejvitak, vice-president for business development of the SET-listed trading group Loxley.
 
The investment came after Loxley signed a memorandum of understanding for the algae-based biofuel development project with Bangchak Petroleum Plc, Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding and the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE).
 
Construction on a six-rai plot will start in mid-2012 and will be finished in the next several months. However, it would take years to search for appropriate algae species for the production.

Thai Govt approves loan for Lao airport - Italian-Thai Development appointed as contractor

The Thai government has approved a loan to Laos to pay for Pakse Airport’s second phase development.
 
Last week, the Thai Cabinet confirmed it would provide Bt184 million in a soft loan at 1.5% interest for 20 years with a five-year grace period.
 
Italian-Thai Development has been appointed the contractor. It will extend the length and width of the runway; improve parking bays, install approach light beacon and runway lights and renovate the control tower adding floors from three to six.
 
Pakse Airport underwent an upgrade during 2009 and reopened early 2010. The improvement included a runway extension to 2,400 metres while it was strengthened to accommodate jet aircraft up to B737 and A320s.

Bangkok's Red Line mass transit project eyes Japan funding

Initial bids for project deemed unqualified
 

The government will scrap bids for the third contract of the Red Line mass transit project to ensure it receives 70 billion baht from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to finance the project.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong took a team of senior finance executives to meet JICA president Akihiko Tanaka in Japan last week to clarify delays in disbursement of the loan.

Mr Kittiratt said the loan would be needed to finance the Red Line project, linking Bangkok's Bang Sue to Pathum Thani's Rangsit, which has been delayed for more than one year by technical problems.

The State Railway of Thailand, which supervises the Red Line, faces several problems including the need to remove public utilities, especially a fuel pipeline belonging to Fuel Pipeline Transportation Co along the route, he said.

The SRT's board decided to scrap bids for the third contract, involving electricity and signalling-system work worth 26.7 billion baht, he said.

PTTEPI signs Zawtika construction work gas contracts - Burma pipeline to Thailand

PTT EXPLORATION and Production International (PTTEPI) signed contracts for construction work at its Zawtika gas project in the Gulf of Mottama on May 7, the company said.

The signing ceremony took place in Yangon at the Chatrium Hotel.

PTTEPI contracted the tasks of building processing and living quarters to Singapore-based SMOE Pte Ltd, a recognised leader in the engineering and construction of offshore production platforms, a PTTEPI official said. The official said the work is expected to cost US$360 million.

The company also contracted transportation, installation, hook-up and commissioning of Zawtika’s processing and living quarters platform to Straits Offshore Pte Ltd (SOPL), also based in Singapore, on the same day in a deal worth $57 million.

“In developing the gas field, PTTEPI will deliver gas through a 28-inch pipeline across a distance of about 300 kilometres [to Thailand],” said Mr Suksant Ongvises, construction project manager of the Zawtika project.

Thailand's floodway projects envisioned as permanent solution

Floodway construction worth 120 billion baht and covering 375,000 rai is expected to be finished 21/2 years from now.

The government project is intended to be a permanent solution to flooding in the Chao Phraya River plain.

It is part of a long-term, 350-billion-baht management initiative from the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management.

Supoj Towijakchaikul, acting secretary-general of the Office of the National Water and Flood Management Policy, said the floodway proposal is the best alternative.

The money will cover construction of a two-kilometre-wide road that will double as a dyke, extending 300 km from Nakhon Sawan province to the Gulf of Thailand.

Water will be allowed to cover the road to a depth of 1.5 metres, while flow is projected at 2,000 cubic metres a second.

Thailand's Construction material prices in April rise 5% y-o-y

The Real Estate Information Center has indicated that the prices of construction materials rose by 5% year-on-year in April. 

According to the center, the average material prices in April increased by 1% from March, and by 5% from April last year. Concrete costs rose the most, to the tune of 19% year-on-year; sanitary ware, electrical appliances, and metal saw only a 2% increase.
 
Wood material prices have increased by only 0.1% from the figure last year and did not rise at all from March. On the other hand, costs of tiles in April are lower than March's by 2%, although the prices have increased by 4% year-on-year.

Source: http://www.pattayamail.com/business/construction-material-prices-in-april-rise-5-y-o-y-12673

Hemaraj announces land acquisition for integrated resort leisure and entertainment real estate development at Koh Lan Pattaya

Hemaraj Land And Development Public Company Limited announced the acquisition of the land at Koh Lan (Million Island) Pattaya Thailand of 228.15 Rai (91.68 acres or 365,040 square meters).  

"Million Island Pattaya" now in the planning phase will be an integrated resort, entertainment, and leisure development that will serve the vast tourism and business needs of Pattaya with 8 million tourists as well as the industrial development of the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand.

The purpose of the acquisition is for Hemaraj to oversee the realization of the master plan, infrastructure, utility, and environmental planning of the integrated resort entertainment and leisure development of Million Island Pattaya.  The development at maturity will provide numerous resort hotels, marina, recreation, entertainment, private beach, boutique retail, dining, and convention centre development.

Archetype Group and AIA Associés Form Partnership to Deliver World-Class Healthcare Facilities

Archetype Group, a leading multi-disciplinary construction consultancy in South East Asia, announced today its new partnership with AIA Associés. AIA Associés, who recently opened an office in Beijing, is a French-based firm specialized in the development of high-quality and technical healthcare facilities. The purpose of such alliance is to bring together the regional expertise of Archetype with the specific healthcare knowledge of AIA Associés and to provide comprehensive design and project management services to the rapidly developing healthcare sectors of Asia.

Mr. Pierre-Jean Malgouyres, General Director of Archetype Group, explains, “Archetype Group has a strong track record of working in developing markets, where there are distinct challenges and considerations. Our aim is to combine that experience with AIA’s specialist understanding of healthcare facilities to provide an unprecedented level of expertise in this area to the fast-growing markets of Asia.”

Grid parity is light at the end of the solar-power tunnel, but delay likely

Within the next five or six years Thailand could become one of the world's leading lights in solar power, producing electricity from this renewable energy source at a cost that is either the same or less than buying electricity from a fossil fuel-fired plant.

The government's progressive energy policies have spawned a major solar power market, as Thai investors and entrepreneurs see the value of the long-term investment in photovoltaic cell systems, which draw on the natural energy of the sun, a completely free and eternal resource.

Just recently, Conergy Renewable Energy commenced construction on a new solar project on behalf of CH Karnchang Co in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Thong Chai district. This 79,000-square-metre project will reduce Thailand's CO2 emissions by 7,000 tonnes a year and help the country achieve its goal of 25 per cent of power from renewables by 2022.

This is the fourth solar park Conergy has undertaken in Thailand — and all of them are making contributions to society's energy needs.

The challenge for Thai solar power producers is to achieve grid parity as soon as possible, but this is likely to be delayed because Thai consumers actually enjoy some of the lowest electricity tariffs in Asean.

B718m loan approved for Uttaradit-Laos link - Border trade with Xayaburi set to boom

The Thai government has approved a soft loan to Laos for a 33-kilometre road from the Phudu checkpoint in Uttaradit province to Paklai in the Lao province of Xayaburi.

The project is being implemented to boost two-way trade, especially the import of commodities.

The total cost of construction is estimated at 718 million baht. A grant of 143.6 million baht or 20% of the cost has been approved by the cabinet, as has a 574.4-million-baht, 30-year soft loan at 1.5% interest and with a 10-year grace period.

Parkdehans Himathongkorn, deputy government spokesman, said Thai businesses will benefit from the road, as Xayaburi is a major maize-growing province and the Lao economy is expanding by 7-8% a year.

Australia wants Thai workers to work in its construction industry

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labor Mrs. Songsri Boonba has revealed Australia is seeking skilled labor from Thailand to work in that country’s construction industry under a government-to-government contract. 

The Permanent Secretary said she had met with a delegation from Australia’s Northern Territory led by Mr. Greg Wallace, the charge d’affaires from the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, as well as representatives from the business sector in Australia to discuss the possibility of sending Thai workers to Australia.
 
Over 20,000 workers have been requested by Australia, all of whom must have experience and possess some English speaking skill that is acceptable to Australian employers. She stressed that it is important for them to be able to communicate in order to express their thoughts and feelings.

Laos: no work on Xayaburi dam until green concerns solved

Laos said yesterday it would not make a final decision on construction of the Xayaburi dam in the main stream body of the Mekong River before approval by the international community and countries in the Lower Mekong basin over environment concerns.

Work on the site by the Thai construction company Ch Karnchang was just preparation, mostly in the primary and exploration stage, said Lao Vice Minister of Energy and Mines Viraphonh Viravong.
 
Laos has proposed building the Xayaburi Dam on the main stream Mekong, about 150 km downstream from Luang Prabang, to generate 1,260MW of power, mainly for export to Thailand.

Laos has followed guidance under the 1995 Mekong agreement following prior consultation with other members within six months - a period that ended in April of last year.

Pattaya's The Palm condominium construction contract signed

Developers of The Palm luxury condominium project on Wongamat beach have put pen to paper in a 1.3 billion THB deal with the Lock-BUILD Group for the latter to begin construction of the twin tower development in north Pattaya.

The Lock-BUILD Group is based in Bangkok and have many well known projects accredited to them in an impressive portfolio.  They will be providing a ‘turnkey’ package for construction of The Palm’s 46 and 26 storey towers.
 
Winston Gale, co-developer of The Palm along with the acclaimed Nova Group, said: “This is our biggest contract signing to date on this project and it’s great news that we have now committed to a construction company and building work will begin as soon as the piling work is completed in June this year.”

Italian-Thai insists it can handle Dawei, has the experience

The SET-listed Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), the country's largest construction company, has reaffirmed its ability to handle a 150,000-rai industrial estate in Dawei, brushing aside Myanmar's doubts about the project's viability.

Nonetheless, strategic partners are needed to jointly develop the large-scale project, said Dawei Development Co (DDC), a company the Thai contractor set up to operate the project in Myanmar.

"ITD has profound experience in developing industrial estates and special economic zones including Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and deep-sea ports in Map Ta Phut and Laem Chabang," said Somchet Thinaphong, DDC's managing director.

"ITD, one of the largest construction firms in Southeast Asia, has the knowledge and full understanding about Dawei to be able to proceed with the project," he told the Bangkok Post.